Sunday, February 15, 2015

The final carbon fiber G. And it is a Project Team Tough!!! Woo-hoo! It came out August 2013 and it was a complete surprise. There had already been a Project Team Tough release (DW-5030C from the Resist Black wave) and Casio had never released more than 1 in an anniversary before. Wait, it gets a little wilder. For the 30th Anniversary, Casio used the screwback chassis from the GW-5000 for the Project Team Toughs. Very high quality indeed. Like the GW-5000 it is a stainless steel screwback case. Oddly, this one is not serialized where the GW-5000 is. Proven and durable, and unlocks a readily available cheap to source spare resin should you want to set the carbon fiber aside.While people have done it and it does look great, this article is about the carbon fiber G-Shock. Not quite as useful if we just set it aside now is it? The good news is that the carbon straps are very durable and tough to cosmetically damage. As you may guess, this is the first Project Team Tough and first screwback to receive carbon straps.

Speaking of the straps if you read about the 30 Stars brothers DW-6930D and GW-M5630D than you probably have a solid idea of what these straps look like. While they are indistinguishable from each other I will still post photos but not as much verbage about them. I do really enjoy the Gold lettering and stars underneath the clear urethane resin.

No, what really sets this one apart from the others is the screen. Where the GW-M5630D used a green mirror-like display, this one uses the micro-dot display which puts it in with some esteemed company. Such as the GW-T5030C. It looks like the surface of an LP or vinyl record, and it is obvious with a little light. I have tried to capture it here. It looks like a 1mm deep puddle of gold! And because of the stainless steel case it is obviously the heaviest carbon fiber G at 83 grams. While not exactly heavy for a watch, or even a G-Shock, it is very noticeable vs other squares. It lends a presence to the one wearing it and you rarely forget you have it on the wrist. And then you look at it and it is a treat.I’ve been talking about this screwback, it is time to show it. Gold colored like the rest of this series, the stamping is a treat. Of course it perfectly matches the screws and buttons and lettering.

As for functions it has EL backlight with afterglow, flash alert that can work in conjunction with the buzzer for alarms and hourly chimes. Getting ahead of myself there. 1/100 second stopwatch for the first 60 minutes then whole seconds after out to 24 hours. The Countdown timer measures in seconds and has a range of 24 hours, settable to the minute. It can also auto-repeat. Multi-function alarm, hourly signal as previously mentioned. Calendar goes out to 2099. 12/24 hour format, and runs on a CR2016.

Original suggested retail was 50,000 yen. Wait. WHAT? Built in markup? Casio get nuts on this one? Nope, crazier than all of that. It was one of TWO Project Team Toughs in the GSET-30. Yes, in the 30th Anniversary Casio brought out a total of 3 Project Team Toughs. In a single year they doubled the number of models released! It also came with a G-Shock figurine just to be over the top. Ready for the other Team Tough?

It is a homage to the original design and to the 10th Anniversary release (DW-1983) and the 20th anniversary release. Differences? As already mentioned this one comes in a GW-5000 screwback case only with a chrome coating that seems very fitting. To this day this is still just such a clean design. The graphics are dialed, the screen Is just extraordinarily crisp. The silver accents (screws, buttons, buckle, and metal keeper) are just perfect. I have absolutely no criticisms of this classically styled G. This is retro done right in my eyes. And again, the resin from the current GW-5000 fits, and probably not that noticeable other than for the keeper. Let’s have a look at that back.

Ready for another weird part? For various reasons many collectors bought the set and then sold off the one they didn’t care for, either the carbon or the classic. If you only want one of these the good news is that many sets are broken apart so it shouldn’t be an issue. More good news? The G-Set30 was also an international release. Which means tons were made. I still think this was easily the best real world collectible of the 30th anniversary (not including the titanium G’s).

No comments:

Welcome to 50 Gs

I'm Sjors and you might know me from my G-Peopleland website. I started this weblog in 2008, together with Greg from Canada. My initial goal was to write about 50 G-Shock models in one year. Meanwhile we are in the seventh series of 50 G-Shock Articles. I write mostly all the articles, but I also invite guest authors.

All G-Shocks I write about are mine. These are NOT for sale. Please no enquiries. The answer is simple: "No".

If you like what I have written or have questions or improvements (I am only human), please leave a comment. Since I got a lot of spam comments, I review all comments before posting. I hope that this doesn't withhold you from writing. I try to publish your comment as soon as possible.

Since early 2014 we had to upgrade to a new computer running Windows 8. Since only Windows XP was supported with my WYSIWYG HTML-Editor, I can't add, edit or even reach any content of G-Peopleland anymore. I do not know if I ever have the energy to make a new website (there are over 400 pages), but until then G-Peopleland will still exist as a monument in G-Shock History. Also note that my website e-mail address is completely filled with spam and therefore full and unreachable. Best to contact me via a comment or Facebook. Sorry for the inconvenience.